The political scene is less racuous in Andhra Pradesh where the seasoned administrator, Chandrababu Naidu, heads the Telugu Desam government and has been able to provide reasonable quality of governance. TDP’s majority hold is unshaken despite a vociferous opposition of YSR Congress steered by Y S Jagmohan Reddy.

In AP, neither BJP, with a mere 4 seats last time nor the Congress suffering a virtual wash-out reflecting people’s anger over bifurcation, is likely to pose an obstacle in Naidu’s path. The Chief Minister would be more cautious about the moves of Jagan who has made his breakaway faction of the Congress,YSRC, the principal opposition in the state. He has also numbers in Lok Sabha to exert influence.

While it may be difficult to predict how things turn around in the next 18 months, BJP does not appear to be in any hurry to discontinue the present alliance with Naidu. This is because of the TDP hold on the state and the need to remain aligned with it in order to increase BJP’s Lok Sabha seats, which Amit Shah wants to be raised to a total of 350 (against the present 282),

AP and Telengana, essentially agrarian states, are endowed with two major rivers Godavari and Krishna, providing a life-line for farmers. Both states are yet to see potential of several major irrigation projects. Talk of new irrigation schemes fails to dangle farmers in perpetual distress over drought and debt or to arrest suicides. Mercifully, the mid-September revival of SW monsoon lifted fears of drought and drinking water worries in many districts, not excluding Hyderabad.

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